A New Appreciation

       So you may be wondering why I have a picture of my brother and me in Boston when I am in China and this blog is suppose to be about Shanghai. Well it actually has a lot to do with China.

       Today I had one of my elective courses, Political Economy in China. The topic of today's lecture was the Chinese population. Of course, it is impossible to talk about the 1.3 billion population without at least mentioning the infamous one-child policy or "family planning policies" as my professor called, and our lecture quickly moved to the justifications of the policies. Though I would love to stand on my soap box and express my outrage about the moral injustice of these laws and how sickening it was to sit and listen to a man preach the lies of its noble merits, I will resist the urge. 

       But I will say this: as I sat through class, my anger and frustration built as I listened to the propaganda being taught on the subject, but near the end of class I had a change of heart. Not a change of towards the policy, but a change concerning my feelings about class that day. With only about a ten minutes left in class, as the professor was wrapping up his lecture with facts about fertility rates and regional policies and the need for such a law, my Chinese classmate, Jane, who sits in front of me, turned around and asked if I had any brothers or sisters. I told her yes, I have one older brother. By the look on her face you would have thought that I told her that I came from Oz, the excitement, wonder, and since of awe and fascination evident on her face as you could her mind pondering what it must be like.  "Awe," she said, "That is so cool," completely enraptured with the idea. I teared up just a little bit. I quickly pulled out my iPod and flipped through my pictures to a family photo, and tapped her on the shoulder and showed it to her. She simply could not believe it. 

      I quickly realized the significance of the conversation, and my attitude quickly transformed from outrage and frustration to a sense of sympathy and deep appreciation for what I have, a brother.

      Activist, and even I, am quick to look at statistics and ratios and the many social problems caused by these "family planning policies," but often forget that the problem is more than a number or an issue, it has millions and millions of faces, going through life not even fully realizing their deprivation. As my professor droned on with his speech, spewing data to prove the excellence of the Chinese policy, the ultimate disproof was happening in the back of the classroom, as a Chinese girl stared at the picture of complete strangers dreaming about how wonderful it must be. 

      So the point of this post is not to make you an activist or even inform you of outrageous Chinese policies, but that you may share in my new appreciation for your siblings. Through the good times and bad, you have them. And that itself is something to be thankful for. 

      After class Jane told me that she thought every girl should have an older brother, someone to protect them for their whole life. I told her yeah, it's a pretty awesome thing to have. 

      So to my protector and life-long pal, Bubba, I love you, and I am truly blessed and thankful to have you. I miss you and I'll talk to you soon. 

Not in SC Anymore

If you haven't noticed, I'm definitely not in South Carolina anymore. Though I know it is difficult to live in any new culture, I've decided that it is especially difficult to be a southerner in China. In so many ways our cultures (the Chinese and Southern culture which is way different than simply the American Culture) are so different yet so similar that it leaves a true southerner dazed and confused and exhausted from trying to cope.  

The differences I'm talking about are not even the super obvious differences such as serious lack of sweet tea, football, and southern cooking. It’s not the absence of these things or the language barrier that makes our cultures different, but the way we go through life and say things. The absence of Southern pleasantries and the less rigorous, or pushy way of Southern life are the big things I miss. (Well, I would also kill for some sweet tea in a cup full of ice, but that’s beside the point.) 

For example, in my last post I wrote about the Chinese constantly honking their horns. Well in the south, we only use our horns in extreme circumstances and its use generally carries a harsh connotation, and is associated with violent hand gestures and profanity or is a indication of immediate and life threatening danger. But here it's not that way at all. They honk their horn just to let you know they are there. Yesterday I was honked at by a car passing by while I was walking on the sidewalk. I know he was honking at me, no one else was around.

Another thing that I've found difficult as a southerner is saying no. If you've ever been to china and had to walk down a street of any significant size, you know that you have to say no a lot. No I do not want rolex. No I do not want Prada bag. No I do not want movie or iPhone or nice ja-ket. It quickly becomes one of the most naturally flowing phrases out of your mouth because you say everyday more times than you can count. (I just want to briefly point how ironic it is that these chinese can correctly enunciate Prada, Gucci, and iPhone but not real life necessities such as toilet paper, fork, or iron. The former list is a necessity for their survival because if they don’t sell it to you then they don’t make a living, but the second list is considered to be nothing more than foreign comforts. But again, beside the point.) It really no longer bothers me to say buyao to the 17th street salesman that I've passed but it does to people I know, such as Chinese friends, professors or even waiters or taxi drivers who are simply trying to be nice and helpful. And it's not the fact that I have to tell people no that bothers me, but it's how you say it that I don't like. 不要 (bu yao) literally meaning don't want or don't need. It sounds so harsh to me. There is no polite southern response of, "No thank you, I'm fine," or, “This is good,” but simply, "No want!" Though these more polite phrases may actually exist in the Chinese language, they are irrelevant, because no one uses them, at least no one I’ve met yet.

It really gets me in situations like this: the other night a lot of us from my program went out on the town. Someone invited one of their Chinese classmates to join us. She was very nice and she and I quickly hit it off (about 5 minutes after meeting her she decided she was going to call me meimei (妹妹, little sister) for the rest of the night). At one point in the night she offered me a piece of Chinese candy but I had just eaten and I really didn't want it. I mentally and verbally stumbled as I tried to make the Chinese equivalent of no thank you  come out of my mouth. She looked at me quite puzzled and tried to help me by saying "bu yao ma?" meaning "you don't want it?" I so terribly didn't want to sound rude by saying bu yao or attempt to say something grossly incorrect that I simply took the candy, politely thanked her and told her it was delicious. At least by the end of the trip we know that I will be the polite awkward American meimei to at least one Chinese girl. 

The audible harshness of their society and culture is just so foreign to me (quite literally). Please do not misunderstand, these are not a harsh people. The true Chinese who I’ve been able to converse with in the school where I work on in the taxi or on the subway are truly kind and hospitable people. This is very much where our cultures align. Now I realize Southern hospitality is a bit of a stereotype, but when you’ve been in cultures that are could definitely not be seen as hospitable, you start to understand. I, for example, love Italy but do not see the people their as hospitable. It probably has something to do with the fact that I felt like I was constantly being yelled at in Italian, and I could have misunderstood or just had multiple bad experiences, but I never felt like I could find someone who would go out of their way to help me. In China and at home, you don’t have to look too far. 

Just the other day, I was a in a shop looking for something in particular and I had no clue how to say or describe it in Chinese. The man who was trying to help told me to wait and went around the entire floor of the building looking for someone who could speak good English. As it turns out, they didn’t have what I was looking for. I felt bad but they didn’t seem to mind. They told me where to find it, gave me directions, and even walked me part of the way there. Now that’s service!! In one of the local convenience stores outside of my apartment complex, one of the guys who worked there walked around the entire store with me helping me find everything I could possibly need. It wasn’t in a let me sell you something kind of way, but in a you are an American who probably can’t read the labels as well as me let me you out kind of way. The teachers at the school where I work are constantly asking me if there is anything I need or really miss from home that they can help with. They just want to help and for people to be comfortable. A lot like home. 

So though there are somethings here I may never understand and don’t really like, there are enough comforts of home to make it more than just livable but actually kind of home like. 

Road Rules: Shanghai Edition- Your guide to navigating the mayhem of the streets of China’s most populated city

With over 20 million residents, 1 million cars and, and 18 million bicycles, the streets of Shanghai are chaotic at best. In a place like this, survival is the golden the rule when it comes to transportation. 

The best way to describe traveling through the streets of Shanghai is to say that it the ultimate combination of aggressive and defensive driving, walking, riding, etc. This is to say that the primary objective when traveling in Shanghai is to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, using whatever means possible, while slowing down or stopping as little as possible. Let me give you a mental picture. Think of your favorite action movie (Mission Impossible, The Bourne Trilogy, a James Bond movie, etc.), now fast forward to the infamous car chase that is in all action flicks. You know, the part where the hero is running for his life, speeding through traffic, breaking all traffic laws, dodging pedestrians, leaving all other vehicles in grid locked streets or heaps of twisted metal, all in a valiant attempt to evade his foes. Got it? Ok now multiply our hero’s driving techniques by everyone else on the road and take away the bad guys. Welcome to the Shanghai school of driving! If you would like hands on experience without endangering your own life or the lives of others, find a teenage boy and ask him to let you play his Need For Speed video game. Ok, I think you get the point and here’s the sad part, I’m not exaggerating! 

The streets of Shanghai are insane to say the least. Which is why I have prepared a brief guide, essential to journeying through the madness. Below I have summarized the few traffic “laws” that I observed and feel are important for all foreigners to know:

Rule #1: There are no rules! Well, technically there are and while I am not well versed on the ins and outs of Chinese traffic laws (I’m not completely sure the Chinese are either), when thinking about them a quote from Pirates of the Caribbean comes to mind, “They’re more like guidelines anyway.” Though there is so much traffic that you could never reach a speed that Americans would consider really fast and dangerous, when riding in the back of a cab, whatever speed they are going seems really fast and dangerous. It probably has something to do with quick zigging and zagging through traffic, narrowly missing anything and everything around you. While they do have stop lights, stop signs, and one way streets that must be observed, things such as lanes and turn signals are mere suggestions. Anytime you’re in a vehicle in Shanghai, hang on for the ride of your life!

Rule #2: Look out for bikes! and mopeds, rickshaws, scooters, motorcycles and pretty  much anything else you can think of. One very important thing to remember when crossing a street or even walking on the sidewalk here is that bicycles and these other smaller means of transportation are not required to follow the few traffic laws that are enforced here. A common mistake made by foreigners is to simply cross the street when they see that the cars have stopped and the cross walk light signals them to go. 不好! (NOT GOOD!) Not only do you have to ensure that all cars and buses are stopped but also that no bikes, motorcycles, etc. are coming. Because if they are coming, they are not stopping! If you step in their way, you are simply an obstacle. This takes some getting use to and a few near death experiences to drive the point home in your brain but eventually you get the hang of it. Now technically speaking, these two wheelers are suppose to follow the rules also but they aren’t enforced so you rarely see it. For example, when at an intersection you frequently see a motorcycle or moped zip through a red light with even slowing down much less stopping. They can also go the wrong way on a one way street. This looks odd at first but really isn’t THAT dangerous. (Sadly, I will admit that I have done this. It’s scary at first, especially at night, but you get over it. Don’t judge, it’s socially acceptable here. When in China do as the Chinese.)

Rule #3: Honking is similar to waving. I want to be a car horn manufacturer in China. Sitting in my apartment writing this right now, I cannot even count to ten without hearing a horn honk, and I don’t even live on a busy street. It is a constant sound that you quickly grow accustomed to. I’m not sure why they feel the need to let out this burst of noise when frequently it is unnecessary but they do. I think the buses here honk every time they see an American. It’s the Chinese “Watch out for the stupid American on the bike!” signal. Now, no one has ever said this, it is merely a personal observation but really, it’s more than coincidence at this point. 

I made a video of my biking adventures in Shanghai but I haven't been able to get it to upload on Blogger. So, I'm posting a link that takes you to the video on my facebook until I can figure out how to make it work. 

Riding my bike to school in Shanghai

Well those are the basics. You can never know them all or truly experience them without being here. On the bright side, the crazy traffic gets your adrenaline pumping and wakes you up in the morning and I'm also sure this information increased my parents prayer life! (even more than it already was!)

 One last thing, if anyone who knows the cop who pulled me over and yelled at me last winter, please forward him a link to this blog. Until next time, drive safe!!

If you see a group of 美国人's that's us!

No personal space on Shanghai bus

So it's been about a week since I've posted. Not a whole lot has happened since then. We've mostly had lots of orientation meetings and that type of thing. We did have our Chinese placement test last week and I was really happy that I placed in the 3rd year here which was what I wanted.
Saturday was probably our busiest day yet. IES arranged a scavenger hunt for us that took us all over Shanghai. This was great because it let us get to know some people in our group better, see Shanghai, learn to use the public transportation system more efficiently and use our Chinese. After running around the city all morning and afternoon, we came back to IES to share our experiences with the rest of the group. It was funny to hear everyone talk about their different adventures and the crazy things you encounter in such a different culture. For example, one of the things IES wanted us to observe throughout the day and discuss with the group later was personal space in China. Long story short, there isn't much (see bus picture). However, it is interesting to see how, when space is available, the old and the young observe it very differently. Our group noticed this the first time we got on the metro. When we first got on it was fairly empty, just a few other people were around. As we continued along the line, it quickly started to fill up. My empty bench was soon filled with me, 2 teenage Chinese girls, and a not very clean looking middle age Chinese man. When the 2 girls joined our bench they immediately moved as far away from me and as close to the man as humanly possible and eyed me suspiciously for the rest of the journey. Clearly they were intimidated by my cheerful Americanness.

My New Shanghai Friends 

But don't worry, I wasn't an outcast for long. A few stops later I was joined by the lovely ladies in the pictures. There is really no other way to say this, they couldn't get enough of me. They immediately starting talking to me (in Chinese) and with a little help from some more fluent classmates we were able to have a nice little conversation. Initially, they wanted to know if I was Russian, because my skin "reflects the beautiful radiance of a Russian." True story. You can't make this stuff up. Later they told me I had a "beautiful baby face" and wanted me to be their daughter. What can I say, the old people love me. After talking for a while, they found out that we were in a competition looking for things so they volunteered to take us to the door of the restaurant that we needed to go to. We took them up on it and they were thrilled to march around Shanghai with 5 young Americans, beaming from ear to ear the entire time.
My group quickly took advantage of this apparent gift that I have and I was given the job of interacting with all of the old Chinese people for the rest of the day.
After the scavenger hunt and a short break to shower and get cleaned up, IES took us to see the Chinese acrobats. It was quite a show and I would definitely recommend it. They could do some crazy stuff and I'm not positive that the human body was meant to twist in such ways. But it was cool to watch.
Sunday was pretty laid back. We didn't really have anything scheduled to do. I was able to go downtown to church. It is an international church called Shanghai Fellowship. It was pretty cool. I think it may be the only place I've ever been where there was no clear minority or majority. It was literally a mix up of people from all around the world. I've never been to church and sat on the same row as a Brit, Australian, and Korean while listening to a girl from Canada give her testimony. They say that overall more than 60 countries are represented in their congregation. That's pretty cool. I look forward to going back next Sunday.
That's about all of the excitement. Classes started today and I go to my first day at the school I am interning at tomorrow. I'll update again soon!

在上海!! (In Shanghai!!)

Sunday morning/afternoon I flew out of Atlanta to Detroit and then on to Shanghai. I got to my apartment building around 8:30 pm Monday night (that's 8:30 Monday morning EST). The flight was pretty good. I watched some movies and tv shows and was able to sleep for a few hours. Definitely wasn't short but it wasn't bad at all. 
My apartment is much nicer than I expected. It is a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment and has a living room, kitchen, and a wash room that has a very small washing machine in it.
Orientation really kicked off yesterday. There are 28 people in my program. Most are from the north east and California with a few scattered in between. I am the only who goes to school in the south east which I thought was kind of interesting.
After sitting through some meetings our group was treated to lunch. I'm pretty sure we were served everything in China and only about half of it was recognizable. Desert was my favorite part though, watermelon!! It's served pretty frequently for breakfast and desert which makes me pretty happy!
After lunch we met with our language partners who helped us find our way to Walmart and get cell phones and other necessities.
Today we have our language placement tests and other orientation meetings. I'm really looking forward to getting to next week and getting my routine set and getting over jet lag!! That's all for now I'll update again soon!! Hopefully next time I'll have some pictures.